Federal Dismantling and Early Learning Disparities in Head Start As a veteran early childhood educator with over 15 years of experience, I’ve witnessed how a quality preschool education can positively change the trajectory of a child’s life. This is why, as a nation, we should be alarmed as President Trump begins dismantling the Federal Department […]
Posted inBack to School
Why Are All the Kids at Low-Income Public Schools Wearing Uniforms?
At the start of the 2024-2025 school year, in a passive protest to my preschooler’s uniform policy at her public elementary school in Brooklyn, I bought slate blue pants instead of the required navy blue. I understood the risks, but I did not care. My favorite online clothing outlet for children was having a sale […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
35 years later, High School reading lists still lack diversity, NCTE study finds
According to a study funded by the NCTE, despite nationwide efforts to diversify texts used by teachers in secondary English literature classrooms, the list of books most taught by the nation’s teachers is written by dead, white men. In the study “The State of Literature Use in US Secondary English Classrooms,” funded by the National […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Trump abruptly returns $5 billion in funding back to schools
In an abrupt move, the Department of Education announced on Friday that it would release over $5 billion in funding to school systems after the Trump administration paused it on July 1 without warning. These already approved federal funding is intended to support summer and after-school programs for migrant students, English learners, and underserved communities were […]
Posted inTechnology
China’s AI-Powered education reform: Lessons and warnings for the global classroom
China’s Ministry of Education recently made an ambitious move that has attracted global attention. The ministry announced a comprehensive plan to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its educational system from primary schools to universities. Branded as part of the country’s “strong-education nation” strategy, this campaign pledges to redefine Chinese students’ learning experiences and their modes […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
How Magic School has revolutionized my teaching by adding relevancy and authenticity to my math classroom
As a classroom teacher of 35 years, I find myself challenged to create relevance with the subject matter in my math classroom in our ever-changing world. The topics of today’s youth and the scenarios they are going to encounter in the “real world” are foreign and seem somewhat out of reach to me. As Kristen […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
The life, legacy, and lessons learned from Malcolm Jamal Warner
Like so many Gen X adults, the death of Malcolm Jamal Warner was a shock. As the kids often say, it hit different. I have read so many articles and seen so many tributes to his impact and legacy that I felt compelled to capture how much his life has impacted my own. From phone […]
Posted inEnglish Language Learners
Can AI Be a Learning Partner? Rethinking the role of generative AI
Imagine that you’ve just assigned your students a reflective essay on something that they’ve read or on a project that they recently completed. Eventually, you begin sifting through the submissions, but you notice some marked differences from previous years. For instance,several essays are polished but kind of generic, with an overly refined tone that doesn’t […]